75 Roses
by ISFDY
Summary: Set after graduation. 75 roses for every week he’s been in coma. Her ticket to freedom was his death. But then Sharpay came along and complicated things.


**A/N Okay, this first chapter is a little dark but it gets better.**

She sigh. Shaking her head, more in disappointment then sadness. Slowly – with shaking hands- she reached up and left a single rose in the vase. "Oh Troy," she moaned, waiting for the tears to come.

They didn't.

She could never bring herself to cry over this, she never really wanted to. Or felt much about it. It was her ticket to freedom more than anything else. It was sort of her duty to be sad over this though. She comes everyday of course and she really does care. Just not enough.

"Hey," a voice whispered from the door frame. Gabriella didn't move, she didn't want him to see her face.

Footsteps were heard as he got closer and she could soon see his shadow, standing there above hers. He wrapped his muscular arms around her as she pretended to sob. They rocked back and forwards slowly.

It kindda reminded her of Troy. The tears finally came and this time they were real. But the tears weren't for the same obvious reason. Chad lead her out of the room. Both not looking back.

XXX

A petite blonde entered the room, a red rose in her hand. Red for love. Red for anger. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and as she took in the sight of her friend, they turned into loud sobs. Troy – looking as beautiful as ever – was laying there unmoving on the bed. Only then it had sunk in that Troy was in coma.

The doctor said it was fatal.

It was weird how somehow who seemed to care so little had cried over this so badly. She longed for him so badly. To be able see those sparkling eyes again.

She sat there for awhile, not really saying anything. Just taking in the beautiful sights of his face.

He was meant to go to collage, get married, have a life. Said life was all planned out so perfectly. She knew that. She knew that that's what he wanted. He had told her once. After gradation they had became friends' and stayed in touch after collage. She just never imaged her beautiful Troy not achieving his dreams, he was so determined. She never thought he would end up in a hospital bed. Barely 20 years old. She slowly, but gently ran a hand over his hair.

It was Gabriella's call whether they take him off life support or not. His mum died a few years back and his dad was in the next hospital room, fighting for his life too. The name Bolton was basically no-existence anymore.

Her hand reached out to his and he stirred a little. Sharpay jumped a little at first, blinking repeatedly. Did that just really happen?

A couple of minutes later a nurse walked into the room to check up on him. She smiled sadly at Sharpay. "Y'know," The nurse started to say, in a heavy unfamiliar accent. "He can hear you, if you talk to him. It increases his chances of his waking up."

Sharpay looked around nervously. Talking to someone in coma was no better than talking to yourself. Sharpay tried hard to hide her tears, but at that moment for some reason they streamed out. "He um, moved before. Just stirred a little."

The nurse nodded, telling her they'll send a doctor up to check on him too soon, and left.

Sharpay flopped down on the chair next to the bed. "Here goes nothing," she says, then takes a deep breath and reaches out for him once more.

"Troy..."

Xxx

Sharpay stared, stunned. He was squeezing back. He was responding to her touch. She called a doctor but kept the grip on his arm. They tried to kick Sharpay out of the room but she wouldn't move.

A little hope rose up in her heart. He still had a fighting chance.

XXX

All Gabriella ever wanted was a bit of excitement. Troy being in a coma was her ticket to freedom. She was trapped in this life she didn't want to live, with a person she couldn't love. She couldn't continue on like that. It was cute in high school but times have changed since then.

She didn't have a choice anymore. The affair with Chad started months ago, to add a flavour of something sweet into her bitter life of sadness. It was the adrenaline rush that kept her going. It started out with a couple of drinks at first. It always does.

"Why won't you marry Troy?" Chad asked, as he opened his beer can. The smell of alcohol filled the air. The boy was obviously paid off by his friend to help convince her. Gabriella sighs, opening up her own beer. "I love Troy, I'm just not ready" She stated for the fifth time that day, emotionlessly. Beer after beer and a drunken heart-to-heart lead to them kissing which turned into more than that.

That night, Gabriella realized then that it wasn't Troy she loved; it was her boyfriend's best friend, the same person who was her best friend's boyfriend too. The next day Troy decided to try his luck again, this time she said yes. She couldn't hurt poor Troy.

8 month later here we are. She didn't have to after all. She doesn't want him to die, maybe move far away and let her start over without ever bumping into him again. The boy who wasted his own life loving her because she was too scared to break it off. She was debating whether to take him off life support or not. Everyone will hate her if she did; she will hate herself, killing that sweet boy. But the doctor said it was fatal anyway. There was no chance for Troy surviving at all, but letting him die on his own is going to take longer. She didn't want to continue wasting her life, waiting for him to get out of it or better, already. She couldn't help being so selfish, she was too angry, too frustrated. She didn't want to deal or accept any of this. She just wanted it to go away.

It was the perfect opportunity, everything she's ever dreamed off. But it was practically like killing someone, could she live with the gilt? Would it be any different from the gilt she's been living with the last couple of years of her life? Maybe she could ran, just in case he does wake up and it will be like she never existed, she would never have to think about Troy again and all the pain he had caused her. She could go to Australia, Japan, Germany. It didn't matter where, anywhere but here. Her mind was floating, all the possibilities...

It was horrible, she felt horrible.

A per of arms wrapped around her, her lips twitching into a smile. "Babe," he whispered. He didn't seem to be too sad either about his best friend. Maybe he felt the same way about his life, about Taylor?

"What are you thinking about?" He asked in a soft, gentle voice. Like she would tell him. She didn't trust Chad, he was just someone to make her happy when she needed it. Not that she got the chance to respond anyway. Her phone rang at that moment. Her heart crashed as she heard the doctor's words. "He's moving."

Her hopes, her dreams. Scattered into nothing. She was meant to be happy, she knew she was, as Troy's girlfriend. But she couldn't even bring herself to smile.

"I'll be right there."


End file.
